Is it love or just a Marriage Bill?
by sonea91
Summary: When the ministry passes a "Marriage Law", Hermione wastes no time expressing her disapproval. But will she come to regret this decision? Or will things turn out to prove her point? And maybe, just maybe, it's far more complicated than that...
1. Prologue

So obivously I've already read loads of 'Marriage Law' fics, some great, some not as much. This is my own version of it, and though the name 'Marriage **Law**' doesn't apply in this case, it's still there I got the idea from.

I'll be ignoring the fact that Fred died in DH, as I really wanted him in this story and I'll also ignore the epilogue;)

Oh and yes, the first few chapters will probably be really short, but I might make them longer later on.

All usual **disclaimers **apply, i.e. **I own nothing **but the plot.

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**Has the ministry gone totally bonkers? Or has it made its wisest decision in 20 years?**

_by Rita Skeeter_

Early this morning, the ministry announced its latest decision, to pass the so-called "Marriage Bill", a bill that will certainly develop to be this month's most discussed controversial topic.

According to the bill, all unmarried witches and wizards of age will be recorded in the ministry, and a profile will be created with personal information, such as character traits, hobbies or school reports. How the ministry will gain access to this information, officials neglect to reveal.

In the end, each wizard or witch will be matched, according to their profile information. So, you single ladies and men out there, expect to get post from the ministry quite soon. The letters will not include the name of your match, but also personal information, though not their complete profile.

"No one will be forced to do anything with it", ministry official Charles Hunt announced. "We just want to give people a push in the right direction, having their best interests at heart."  
The whole thing seems harmless enough. You get a letter with a name and a profile and you're free to do with it whatever you want. But the ministry's motives aren't as innocent as it wants to make the public believe. Decreasing birth rates and the great number of deaths in the Wizarding War are threatening the Wizarding community. It has greatly diminished and statisticians predict that if the marriage rate will not increase in large numbers, the wizarding community will die out within the next two centuries. So, the ministry only has its self-interest in mind, to put it mildly.

An insider revealed that the ministry had planned to go even further than that. In the original discussion, the suggestion was not that of a "Marriage Bill", but rather of a "Marriage Law" that would have forced everyone to marry their match within a certain amount of time. However, due to protest from many of the ministry officials, the law was changed into a bill and passed in its milder form.

"Still, the bill represents an intervention in our personal lives", says Hermione Granger, muggle-born witch, part of the Golden Trio and recipient of the Order of Merlin, first class. "The ministry now has an excuse to collect personal information on every single one of us, and no one can know for sure what exactly it uses it for." And she is certainly right, duty of security has already been a controversial topic and this bill will only serve to fuel the flames.

And for Miss Granger there is yet one more important issue. "It seems that the ministry has learnt nothing at all. We just defeated the darkest wizard of all times, whose primary aim it was to kill all muggleborns and to spread his ideology of pureblood racism. And yet this bill excludes marriages between muggles and wizards. What did we fight for?, I find myself asking."

Of course, Miss Granger can hardly be regarded as objective in this respect, as she is a muggleborn herself. And yet it seems ironic that Voldemort might postmortem achieve his ultimate goal in a way, with the help of our own ministry.

So what to do with those little letters? "I'm going to destroy mine without even looking at it", says Miss Granger, "and I'd advise everyone else to do the same."

While this might be an honorable approach, I'm sure that most wizards and witches will be far too curious as to whom they were matched with. "There's still enough time to destroy the letter afterwards, if you don't like the person whom you were matched with", says Hannah Abbot, recipient of the Order of Merlin, third Class. And she is certainly not alone in her opinion; most people seem to be thinking along the same lines.

"I think, Miss Granger is exaggerating", says Mark French, Ministry official. "We are very careful with the handling of private data. And nobody forbids her to marry a muggle, if she so chooses. We're only asking people to read the name, they're completely free to do whatever they like afterwards."

One thing is for sure, discussion will not die down too quickly. And yet, general acceptance seems to be dominant only a few hours after the ministry's decision.

(For more information on the 'Marriage Bill' see page 2, 3 and 4).


	2. The Letter

Since this chapter is extremely short, I wanted to post it along with the first chapter. It might also give you a better idea of where I'm heading with this story;)

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_Curiosity killed the cat. _(proverb)

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**Chapter 1: The Letter**

If Hermione hadn't been on her own, she probably would have tossed the letter right into the fire, as she had proclaimed she would do. But the ways things were, she was alone when the owl arrived and no one was there to judge her or to point out to her that she was behaving hypocritical.

So when Hermione got the letter, she was about to destroy the letter when curiosity won over. She didn't want to read the whole letter, just take a sneek pick at the name. That couldn't be too bad, could it? And anyway, she wasn't planning on doing anything with it, was she? Just a single look and she would be destroying it right afterwards.

So Hermione quickly tore open the envelope and took a look at the parchment with a single name on it. And when she read the name, she was so surprised, that she accidentally dropped the whole thing, right into the fireplace where she had been planning on throwing it earlier on. She cursed her own clumsiness, before realizing that in the end, she had just done what she had planned on doing all along. She wouldn't have looked at the profile anyway, so it had been for the best, right?

And yet she was still shocked by whom the ministry had chosen as her match. It had been none other than George Weasley.

But didn't just that prove that the whole thing was incredibly stupid, if it chose someone for her she had never as much as spared a second glance for.

Suddenly she realized that if she had gotten this letter, surely George had gotten one, too. She fervently hoped that he hadn't looked at it, or things might turn out quite awkwardly after all. Not that she planned on telling anyone that she had read the thing, mind you, but still…

And then she realized that she would probably find out soon enough. She was going to meet all the Weasleys just this very evening for dinner. Oh bugger.


	3. Dinner at the Burrow

So, here's the next chapter. It's slightly longer, but it just makes it easier for me to update regularly if I keep them short.

You all know, I don't anything, never have, never will;)

And thanks for the reviews, they were much appreciated!

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_If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them_. (Isaac Asimov)

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**Chapter 2: ****Dinner at the Burrow**

For the first time, Hermione didn't arrive unnecessarily early. Usually she would get there at least an hour prior to dinner, to make sure that Mrs Weasley didn't need her help with anything and just to chat away with the boys.

Today, however, was different. She buried herself in one of her books, not admitting to herself that she was only frittering away time, not wanting to have to face George quite yet.

Finally she closed her book with a sigh, if she didn't want to be late, she had to go, and being late was just not an option. Well, maybe George knew, but she sure as hell wouldn't bring the topic up. And so she could pretend being totally ignorant. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

With a soft plop she apparated over to the Burrow.

"You're late", Ron greeted her, as she entered the kitchen.

"I am not", she said, slightly affronted. She didn't have to check to know that she was still at least five minutes early.

"Well, you usually get here at least an hour prior to dinner, so technically, you're late."

"I am NOT late", she ranted out at him. "Just because I had something better to do.."

"Hermione", Harry cut in before the two of them could continue their bickering. Some things simply never changed, and Hermione was sure that Ron and she were still going to be bickering away when they were grey and old. And honestly, she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Dinner was a busy affair, as usual, and thankfully, no one mentioned the Marriage Bill or the letters that each of them had gotten.

After dinner, she quickly volunteered to help Mrs Weasley with the cleaning up. She took her time, but eventually, there was hardly anything left to do and Molly ushered her out of the kitchen, telling her that she had done enough and wouldn't hear any of her protests.

Reluctantly, she joined the rest of the group in the living room. Fred and George were sitting on the couch, while Ron occupied one of the armchairs. Harry was sitting on the other, with Ginny comfortably on his lap. She had to smile at them, they looked so cute together. Harry looked up at her and caught her staring at them. He raised an eyebrow questioningly: "What?"

"Oh, nothing", she said, still smiling, while settling herself on the floor. "Just thinking that you two look cute together."

She had to laugh even harder, as a huge blush spread across Harry's face. Meanwhile, Ginny just chuckled and leaned down to give him a short kiss on the lips, which increased his blush even further and caused protest from all of her brothers.

"So, what are you guys talking about?", Hermione asked.

"We were talking about our matches", Ron said.

Hermione cursed herself for asking that question.

Before anyone else could say anything though, the twins addressed her.

"Hermione, dear", Fred started.

"You know, even though this place is cramped and all", George continued.

"You really don't have to sit on the floor", Fred took his turn.

"You know, there's still loads of space on the couch", George finished, as they both moved to sit on opposite sides, leaving space for her in the middle.

"Thanks, guys, but I'm just fine where..", before she could finish, the twins had both swiftly gotten up and had both woven an arm around her, pulling her up.

"But we insist", Fred said, while they dragged her over to the couch.

Hermione didn't protest, as she was grateful for the momentary distraction from the previous topic, so she squeezed in between the two of them, feeling awkward at sitting that close to them.

Her relief, however, was only short-lived, as Ginny picked up the topic once again.

"So, Hermione, did you open yours?", the younger girl asked curiously.

"No, of course not." Hermione tried her best to sound affronted, as if even the idea was ludicrous. "I just tossed it right into the fire."

Fred was glancing at her, looking somewhat suspicious. Not good. She definitely had to get better at lying. And George? His expression had also changed, though she couldn't quite place it. Was it relief or disappointment that she saw flickering across his features? Her position did nothing to help her inspecting the twins' faces for that matter, as she could hardly just turn around and look at them openly.

"Oh yes, I remember your statement in Skeeter's article the other day", Harry said.

"I think you're stupid", Ginny bluntly told her. "Now you'll never know who you'd been matched with, unless that person approaches you of his own accord." She was quite sure that wasn't going to happen, right?

"So, who did you get then?", Hermione asked the younger girl, trying to steer the conversation away from her own person.

"Who do you think?", Ginny said, laughing, while giving Harry a peck on the cheek. Well, obviously, the ministry would have been stupid if they hadn't matched her with Harry.

"What about you?", she asked, turning around to face Ron.

"Sm gil cot isha bili", he answered with his mouth full.

"Who?", Hermione asked, while Ginny prompted "Don't tell me you're still eating, wasn't dinner enough?" She looked at her brother disapprovingly.

"Sure, but Mum made these cookies and they just smelled so delicious, I couldn't help but grab a few" Ron shrugged, having swallowed down, while Ginny just rolled her eyes.

"And to answer your question, her name's Patricia Berkley. Apparently a former Hufflepuff, was in the same year as Ginny."

"I remember her, though I hardly know anything but her name, she seemed quite nice though", Ginny said.

"So, are you going to try find out more about her?", Harry asked his best friend.

"Guess not", Ron answered. "Waiting for her to take the first step and all, right?"

That was just so typical of him. Hermione was about to admonish him for it, when she realized that since the whole match thing was stupid anyway, she shouldn't encourage him to act on it in any way. So she closed her open mouth without saying anything. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Fred smirking at her. Why did he have to be so observant.

George, meanwhile, seemed to avoid looking at her, though he would spare a glance at her every so often. So he definitely knew, oh bugger.

"So, who was it for you?", Ginny asked Fred.

The latter just shrugged. "My letter just said that they 'have yet to find the perfect match' for me."

"Oh", Ginny said and was about to ask George the same question, when Fred interrupted her. "So anyone up for a late round of quidditch?"

He obviously knew, and, even though she had hoped that George hadn't told anyone, she was grateful that he had interrupted his sister.

Everyone else got up, obviously looking forward to the game.

"What about you?", Harry asked her, knowing that she hated flying and wouldn't want to join in. She knew, if she only as much as hinted at it, he would stay with her, as to not leave her alone.

"Oh, I think I'm gonna go back to my flat anyway", Hermione said. "I still have some important things to do." What those things were, she refused to elaborate and before anyone could ask any questions she didn't know how to answer, she said her goodbye and left.


	4. A surprise meeting in Diagon Alley

Have you ever found out that you're an addict? Addicted to that page called fanfiction? I have…

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_Attraction is beyond our will or ideas sometimes. _**(Juliette ****Binoche)**

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**Chapter 3: ****A surprise meeting in Diagon Alley**

Two weeks later found Hermione walking down Diagon Alley, picking up some books she had ordered at Flourish & Blotts and shopping for some other wizarding supplies.

She was just passing Giovanni's Ice-cream parlour - which had openend not long after the end of the war, replacing Florean Fortescue's - then she noticed the two red-heads walking in her direction. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have noticed just yet and Hermione hurried to the side to hide behind some magical plant. However, she overlooked the slight unevenness of the ground and stumbled.

Hermione closed her eyes, preparing herself for the impact that was sure to follow and already going through the possible outcomes of what was about to happen. She hoped that she would get away with only a minor concussion, but the pavement had looked rather hard indeed.

Nothing of the kind happened, as she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her and keeping her from hitting the ground. As she opened her eyes, she recognized the handsome features of one of the twins. Noticing the scar that ran down his neck, she identified him as Fred.

"And what exactly where you looking for down there?", he asked her, but his smirk showed that he had quite a fair idea what she had been trying to do.

"Thanks Fred", Hermione replied, disentangling herself from him, while trying to look as dignified as possible. This only earned her another amused snort from Fred though.

"So, what are you doing in Diagon Alley?", George asked her.

"Well, I was doing some shopping", Hermione said.

"Well, you don't look like you've been overly successful", George said, pointing to the single bag that Hermione was carrying.

"Oh, that", Hermione said, pulling out three books. "Those bottomless and nearly weightless bags come in quite handy at times."

"Ooh." George was clearly at a loss as what to say. Hermione had never seen the outspoken twin at a loss of words or had seen him blush. However, she was not confident enough to tease him about it and she was quite sure that her very own blush was currently gracing her features.

Fred was still grinning broadly, obviously highly amused about their discomfort . The situation was quite awkward, as neither George and Hermione knew what to say next.

Eventually, Fred took pity of them and took up the conversation again. "So, are you finished with your shopping yet or are you already on your way home?", he asked Hermione.

"Oh, I'm actually done, I just wanted to grab some lunch before heading home", Hermione said, grateful for his interruption, even though Fred was still enjoying himself far too much for her liking.

"Perfect", Fred at once exclaimed and Hermione had the feeling that she had just made a huge mistake. "You see, we were just about going for lunch ourselves…", he started.

"… and we think you should join us", George continued.

"See, it would be such a shame if a pretty young lady like you", Fred went on (at this Hermione blushed again, even though she knew that they were just teasing her. At least George seemed to be more like himself again and much of the previous awkwardness was gone).

"would have to have lunch all by herself", George once again picked up.

"And seeing as we're these two perfect, handsome-looking gentlemen…", Fred's turn again.

"we of course can't possibly allow this outrageous event to take place", George piped in.

"So would you do us the honour of accompanying us to Madame Dupont's", the twins finished off together, mockingly bowing to her.

Hermione had started laughing at the twin's antics by now and they both seemed to be quite pleased with their 'success'. Madame Dupont's was – despite its rather fanciful name – a small place that mainly sold sandwiches.

They sat down at a table in the corner together, and after inspecting the menu for a while, ordered their meals.

Conversation was light at first, Hermione inquired how their shop was going (quite well) and about their latest inventions. It had taken Hermione a while to realize this, but the things the twins were inventing were rather advanced magic. She still didn't agree with their carefree attire towards school, but at least she felt she understood them a bit better now.

Fred excused himself soon afterward, saying that he was just going to 'pay the bathroom a short visit', a visit from which he mysteriously didn't come back. Hermione should have expected as much, leave it to Fred to find some way to leave the other two alone, and a blatantly obvious one at one. It just wouldn't have been Fred to make up a proper excuse, like, saying that he needed to get back to the shop or anything of the kind.

Strangely enough, Hermione didn't mind too much that he was gone, but found that she was having a rather pleasant time with George. Hermione still hadn't made up her mind as to what she was going to do now, go back to Hogwarts to take her NEWTs or get some job. Truth be told, after the war, these kind of things just hadn't seemed that important anymore.

Hermione was surprised to find that twins, or rather George (she had to stop thinking of them as a pair! They were individuals, just like anybody else!) seemed to have a side to him that she hadn't yet known of, or had only glanced at. Their magical abilities were part of that, and as they had proved, they were quite capable at that. She was doing it again, he not they, that shouldn't be that hard, really, but what did it matter anyway. She still wasn't interested in George romantically and the fact that they had just spent the better part of two hours in a rather lousy diner just chatting didn't change anything. Nor the fact that he had hugged her good-bye and she had rather enjoyed that, but that had been only because of his perfume, she was sure, and anyone could go and by a good perfume, right?


	5. The sweetness of little notes

Over the years, some people receive many a note from friends and family alike. But there is hardly any note as treasured as the first one from a lover. The note might be but short, the wording but simple, the writing anything but elegant, yet it will always continue to hold a special place in the recipient's heart.

It might be a note to stir some feelings unknown, to cause many a heartache, to hold fond feelings. Whatever it is, it will never be forgotten.

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**Chapter 4: The sweetness of little notes**

When Hermione got back to her apartment, her emotions were still in an uproar. She had enjoyed her time with George and it confused her.

Far away in her thoughts, she missed the hook when she meant to hang up the light jacket she had been wearing and it instead fell to the floor. She was about to pick it back up when she noticed a little note that must have fallen out of her pocket.

Curious, she picked it up, her heart beating a little bit faster than she would have cared to admit.

"To Hermione, my favourite bushy- haired bookworm

Would you do me the tremendous honour of going out to dinner with me tomorrow? I'm sure we would have a blast together, because at least I had a lot of fun today.

Does six sound fine? I know a rather fancy place in Muggle London called "La French cuisine" where I'd like to take you. Of course, only if you want to. Dinner will be on me.

Please just send me an owl to let me know whether or not I will have to eat on my own, which would be a rather sad thing, don't you think? So I suppose you'll have to go, if only to save me from my impending doom.

Yours sincerely (well, I'm never really all that sincere, but I figured yours jokingly didn't quite have the right sound to it),

George"

It seemed like he had scrawled the note rather quickly onto the small piece of paper, and yet she couldn't help it but admire his hand-writing. He had a rather fanciful script, which still managed to appear elegant. At the same time she wondered how he had managed to both write and hide that note in her jacket without her noticing.

She looked back down at the small note when she noticed a small PS squeezed onto the very corner of the sheet.

"Don't take the bushy-haired thing the wrong way. I love really like it that way. It's just so you."

Hermione smiled despite herself. He just sounded so cute, no, cute was not the right word. Well, he just didn't sound like the self-assured George she knew. He actually sounded a bit nervous there.

But when she realized just what it meant. George was asking her out. On a date! Oh bugger, what was she to do?

Hermione went into the kitchen, putting the kettle on. She had never been a coffee person; the fact that her parents didn't drink any was probably mainly responsible for that. They had deemed it bad for her teeth and only drank herbal teas. Unbeknownst to her parents, Hermione had always kept a 'secret stash' of black tea though, as there were just moments like this when she needed something slightly stronger. She knew it was slightly hypocritical, black tea was in no way better than coffee, but she had found out that there were far more important things in life.

Once the water was boiling she poured herself a cup – no milk or sugar added – and nestled down in her favourite armchair in her small living room. She was embracing the hot cup with both her hands, holding it close to her chest. The warmth gave her some comfort and it had always been some way for her to help her concentrate.

She sat there for quite a while, contemplating, occasionally taking a sip from her cup. Her first impulse had been to say yes, yes of course, she would love to go with him. Then she had remembered the marriage bill, and how that whole thing was utter rubbish, how she had sworn to herself to prove that. But still, she had had fun with George that day…

Her nerves weren't helping. Hermione liked to think of herself as someone always able to think things rationally over, but just then she wasn't able to do so and she was getting annoyed about that. There was a tiny flutter in her stomach, a grin that would occasionally break out on her face that kept her from doing so.

The truth was, she really wanted to go, but she couldn't just admit that to herself. So instead, she found other reasons for her to go. Like that she had hardly been on any other dates before, that it would be a good experience for her. That George was a good friend and that she didn't want to disappoint him. That it had nothing to do with the Marriage Bill after all.

Finally she decided to go after all. It would be only fair for her to give him a chance, she tried to reason with herself, and it had nothing to with the constant flutter in her stomach. And it would definitely be a one-time thing. After this night she could politely but decidedly tell him that she was not interested.

"To George, my favourite gingerhead prankster

The honour will be all mine. I suppose I am to meet you at the restaurant since you didn't explicitly say anything about it. But since I know the place, I think it is easiest to meet there anyhow.

I had a rather pleasant time today as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow."

Hermione was reflecting on what she had written so far while trying to decide how to finish off the letter. Did it sound too contrived?

She sighed, annoyed at herself, she had never had any trouble composing a letter before. Well, that wasn't exactly true, she tended to reread her letters at least three times before she ever sent one off.

Finally she decided on signing it off with

"Love, Hermione"

like she always did. If it worked for everyone else, it would work just as well for George.

After a moment's thought she added a small PS as well:  
"Don't take the prankster part wrong, I still don't approve of you pranking people all the time. I just found that some of your pranks can actually be quite funny."

After rolling the short parchment up, she quickly tied in to Lysander's leg and sent him off, before she could reconsider the whole thing. She watched her owl fly away, staring after him for a long time, before deciding to turn in for an early night.

It is probably needless to mention that Hermione slept rather little that night, pondering her decision over and over, wondering whether she had done 'the right thing'.

If her state at night was to be pitied, she was even more anxious throughout the day. She wondered what to wear and when was angry at herself for caring. And still, she couldn't help it but wanted to look good.

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"You're early", she said.

"I never come too early", George answered, winking at her.

It took her a few seconds to realize the innuendo behind his words. "George", she admonished, while turning scarlet herself. If it had been either Ron or Harry, she would have properly chastised them for the comment and wrinkled her nose at them, but with George she deemed it safest just to drop the topic. He merely chuckled at her, not appearing to be embarrassed in the least. Instead he got up from his seat, making a half-mock, half-serious bow in front of her.

"Would you care for a seat, my lady?", he asked, pulling out a chair for her.

"Why thank you my noble Sir", Hermione replied amused, playing along and meanwhile trying to regain control of her facial expression.

Once George had ensured that she was properly seated he went back to his own seat opposite of her.

After the waiter came and had brought them their menus, they both engaged themselves with trying to pick out what to eat, neither of them knowing what to say.

"You look good", George said after a while, shyly looking at her, his face turning a colour to match his hair.

"Thank you", Hermione replied softly. "So do you." She was sure that her face now matched his.

They held eye contact for a few moments, before both awkwardly looking back down.

"So, have you been to this place before?", George asked after another while had passed with neither of them saying anything.

"No, I actually haven't. I just have passed it a few times, but I never got around to actually dining here."

"So, even if this whole thing turns out to be a disaster, you will have gotten to taste the food here", he laughed at her.

"True", she smiled back at him.

"And let me assure you, it is rather good. And I'm a rather good judge, too, since I know pretty much all good restaurants in London."

"Leave it to a Weasley to know all about food", Hermione laughed. "You're just like Ron." She stopped abruptly. Bringing up your ex-boyfriend – if Ron could be really counted in that category – which was on top of all your date's brother wasn't exactly the greatest topic to start off with.

George cleared his throat slightly before changing the topic: "So have you decided what to order yet?"

"Yeah, I think I'll go for some shells, I haven't had any in ages. And you?"

"The same, actually. I'm rather fond of shells. They're rather hard to crack but once you manage to do that they're well worth it."

She was about to point out to him that the shells the restaurant was serving were already half-opened, when she realized the possible double meaning of those words and closed her mouth before saying anything.

At that moment the waiter arrived back at their table to take their orders, saving them both from another awkward silence.

After they had ordered, talk became more light-hearted and started to flow more easily, similar to the day before.

"So, what are you up to these days, besides working at the shop, I mean?", Hermione asked.

"Other than dating a beautiful brown-haired witch who is furiously blushing at the moment? Not much, I spent most of the time with Fred, really. When we're not working we're usually at the Burrow or busy inventing some new products."

Hermione silently cursed him for his ability to make her blush without seeming the slightest bit unsettled himself. And his nerve to smirk at her.

If Hermione hadn't been as much of a bundle of nerves as she currently was, she might have noticed the slight wavering in his voice, or the trembling of his hand, which he tried to hide under the table. True, maybe he wasn't quite as nervous as the witch opposite of him, but he was also definitely more talented at hiding it from her.

The conversation became more steady after that. They were talking about many things, her favourite book, his favourite class and so forth. He would still tease her from time, and she would still blush, but all in all, they were becoming more and more comfortable with the situation.

Time passed without either of them noticing, and at long last they said their goodbyes. George took her arm delegating her outside and before they both apparated home from a safely hidden spot to their respective homes, he leaned down to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Before Hermione had time to fully realize what had happened, he had whispered a goodbye and was gone. She apparated home to her own apartment, still tracing the place where his soft lips had touched her cheek just moments earlier.

One-time thing indeed. That's why she found herself having giving him the promise of visiting him in his shop two days later to have lunch together.


	6. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

A/N: The story was placed in certain categories for certain reasons. Enough said=)

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Hermione arrived early at the shop. She hadn't been there in a while and was once again struck by just how many products the twins seemed to offer, all the shelves were packed. There were daydream charms, Pygmy Puffs, Quills, Russian Toffees, lying quills, insulting hats and so many, many more.

She nodded at Verity who was standing behind the counter and walked over to Fred, who was currently explaining one of their latest products to some customers. She stood by and looked around, waiting for him to get finished.

After a while, Fred had managed to satisfy the customers' curiosity and turned around to face Hermione. "And what can I do for you, love?"

Hermione blushed and playfully pushed him. "You know quite well that I'm here to see George."

"George? Are you serious? And here I thought you were here to see me", Fred pouted. Hermione just laughed.

"No really, Granger, I am deeply wounded", he asserted, but the playful twinkle in his eye gave him away.

"Well, sorry to disappoint then, but there is he?", Hermione asked.

"Oh he's in the back, just wanted to finish something off. I can call him for you if you want, but he should be done quite soon anyways."

"That's quite alright then", Hermione said.

"I suppose I'll just have to keep you company in the meanwhile", Fred said, winking at her suggestively.

"Then again, maybe you should call George for me at once", Hermione playfully replied, blushing all the same.

"Ah, when I can spend my time making you blush instead, I don't think so." Hermione turned an even deeper shade of red, which caused Fred to smirk even more.

"But really, you don't have to keep me company. I'll be fine by myself."

"What if I want to?"

"Want to do what?"

"Want to keep you company."

"Oh", Hermione was momentarily lost for words. "Well, if you insist."

"I do", Fred said, brightly smiling at her. Hermione thought that her face colour might just permanently switch to red and wondered whether it was as red as it felt like. When a thought hit her, she was a witch after all; why did she forget about that all the time. She fingered for her wand under her cloak, careful not to show to Fred what she was doing. A silent 'derubere' later, she felt her face turning back to normal. That was better.

Fred looked disappointed for a moment, he had obviously enjoyed flustering her. Hermione smiled.

"So what was that product you just explained to those customers?", Hermione asked, surprised that she was actually interested and not merely asking out of politeness. When the twins had left the school during her fifth year, she had thought of it as rather immature, and she had dismissed their shop and success for quite a while. However, having talked a lot to George lately she had realised just how much knowledge and powerful magic went into their products and she was deeply impressed by it all. She hadn't thought the twins capable of that, always having dismissed them as mere pranksters who were little concerned about school work and such. Now she knew better and she was genuinely interested in their work.

"Ah, our latest invention", Fred's eyes sparkled proudly as he pulled one of the items from the shelf behind them. "May I present to you the ingenious and marvelous 'essay quills'."

Hermione looked at the quill in his hand suspiciously before she hesitantly took it, turning around to inspect it. "So what do they do?", she asked, "they look ordinary enough."

"Oh, not just ordinary enough, they look exactly like ordinary quills, my dear", Fred corrected her mischievously. "And to answer your question, why don't you try and find out."

With that he pulled out a piece of parchment from his robe and handed it to her. Hermione eyed both the quill and the parchment warily, she knew better than to trust Fred. However, her Gryffindor curiosity and her natural curiosity won over and she carefully scribbled a sentence on the parchment, which proved quite difficult, as she had to press it against the shelf to be able to write on it. To her surprise nothing happened, the parchment simply read "I do not trust Fred Weasley", exactly the thing she had written down. She furrowed her eyes confused, knowing the twins there was more to the quill than met the eye, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Meanwhile Fred had leaned in to read what she had written down and smirked when he read it. "Really, Granger; you just did it again."

"Did what?", Hermione asked.

"Wounded me oh so deeply. Hurt my pride. I am inconsolable", Fred continued his dramatics. Hermione just smiled at him and decided to ignore his antics.

"So, what does it really do?", Hermione asked.

"You expect me to answer that after you just insulted me so severely?"

Hermione just raised an eyebrow at him. "So…?"

"Fine. But I just wish to point out that I am still greatly offended by your attitude towards me."

"Fred…."

"Fine, fine", Fred wasn't able to hold up the act any longer. "So what's so great about them isn't actually what they do, but what will happen if a teacher corrects the essay with a normal quill afterwards. Let me show you." With a dramatic gesture he took out a quill from under his cloak – which made Hermione wonder just how many things he was carrying around with him.

"So, let's see", Fred mumbled, before he started writing a comment at the side of her essay. 'This essay is way too short. I have never read a worse essay in my life. This is truly unacceptable.' He finished it off with writing a large T for 'troll' in the corner of the parchment. Even while he was writing the words started changing. In the end they read. 'This essay is of perfect length and style. This has to be one of the best essays I have ever read on this topic, it really shows your superior knowledge and understanding of the complex nature of the subject.' And the rating changed from the 't' to an 'O' for 'Outstanding'.

Hermione stared at the parchment in fascinated wonderment. "So does it change the words to the exact opposite?", Hermione asked.

"That was the original idea, yes, however the teachers would be bound to work that out after some time, and then they would just write positive remarks on the essay and they would change to something negative, so we modified that spell so that it always praises the work instead.

"Fascinating", Hermione was still staring at the parchment in bafflement before she lifted her eyes and looked up at Fred. "But how did you do that? Usually you're only able to tamper with the object you have in your hand, so that would be the quill the student uses to originally write the essay, you wouldn't be able to tamper with the quill the teacher uses to correct the paper. How did you manage that?" She glanced at Fred questioningly.

"Ah, I'm afraid I can't tell you that", Fred replied smugly.

"Pretty please", Hermione gave him her best expression of the puppy –dog eyes.

"Ah, I really can't", Fred said, laughing, "though that expression of yours is pretty hard to resist. But then again, I'm pretty sure that smart head of yours will be able to figure it out on its own."

"But it'd be so much easier if you just told me", Hermione pouted. "Hm, you'd have to somehow transfer the magic from the original quill to the parchment, I suppose", she went on, observing his reaction closely.

"Hermione, I'm not going to tell you", Fred laughed. "No matter how adorable your pout might be."

"But Freeeed", Hermione was trying the puppy-dog eyes again. "My curiosity is certainly going to kill me. You surely couldn't live with that guilt, could you?"

Fred still didn't say anything, but he was now openly laughing at her.

"Please", Hermione tried again. "I wouldn't tell anyone else, I promise. Your secret will be safe with me."

Fred leaned in to Hermione and for a moment she thought he was actually going to tell her, but he just whispered in her ear, "if I were to tell anybody, it'd certainly be you. However, we have a strict no-revealing-the-secrets-behind-our-inventions policy." His warm breath was tickling her and she felt that familiar brush returning again.

"Oh there you are", George's cheerful voice suddenly interrupted them. "I'm sorry I got a bit caught up."

"Oh, nothing to worry about", Hermione smiled at him. "Fred here kept me company in the meanwhile."

"I can see that", George answered, as he threw a strange glance at his brother.

What was that about? George still looked at his brother with slightly narrowed eyes, while Fred just shrugged at him nonchalantly, before turning around. "Have fun you two", he said before he left them alone.

George looked back at her and his expression changed as he smiled at her. "You look good", he said. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, let's go", Hermione smiled at him, still confused at his antics. He had almost looked like he was jealous, but about what. Surely, he didn't think that Fred and she had been flirting? That was just ridiculous.


End file.
